During player introductions at Ohio hockey games, easy-to-pronounce names from familiar-sounding places fill the air at Bird Arena: Schultz, Agnew, Pilmore and Gulch; Toledo, Pittsburgh, Akron and Cleveland.
But when it comes time for the goaltender to be announced, an unfamiliar flavor is sprinkled in: “Starting in goal, from Rovno, Ukraine, … Fedor Dushkin!”
Strange as it might be to hear those words among a bevy of North American names, it fits perfectly with the sophomore’s rather different path to Ohio University.
Dushkin was born in Ukraine seven months before its independence from the USSR and came to the U.S. with his parents at the age of 2. Upon arriving, his aunt started calling him Teddy — Fedor is the equivalent of Theodore in Russian — because “she thought Americans could pronounce it better.”
Eighteen years and hundreds of saves later, he still goes by that name.
His parents settled in the Chicago area, where he started playing hockey and translating between Russian and English for the Chicago Blackhawks — when he was 9 years old.
Dushkin’s big break, so to speak, came while practicing in 2010 with the Chicago Steel, a Tier 1 junior team in the United States Hockey League that has produced numerous future NHL players. With eight games left to play in the season, the Steel’s starting goaltender was suspended for fighting with an opposing goalie, promoting Dushkin from third string to backup.
The team’s new starting goaltender was thrown out for arguing with a referee early in the third period of the final game of the season, and in stepped Teddy, stopping all nine shots he faced.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” Dushkin said. “I never thought I’d actually play in the USHL.”
In August 2010, Dushkin made the late decision to forgo another year of juniors and to attend college. He wanted to find a school at the American Collegiate Hockey Association level and sent emails to numerous coaches.
The first team to respond was Iowa State, Ohio’s Central States Collegiate Hockey League rival. But the Cyclones’ school year, based on semesters, was about to begin, and the coaching staff wanted Dushkin to come to Ames, Iowa, the next day.
Later in the day, Dushkin got a call from Ohio coach Dan Morris, who had heard about Dushkin from Scott Deady, a former Ohio player and a friend of Dushkin’s family. Dushkin was loading up his car to head to Iowa when he heard from Deady and changed his mind.
Dushkin said he knew he’d made the right decision when the Bobcats visited Ames on a road trip last season.
“When we went to Iowa State last year, it was kind of a different scene,” he said. “It was a bigger school, but it was sort of in the countryside with horses and cows running around, which was not my thing.
“I love Ohio, and I’m definitely glad I came here.”
As a freshman, Dushkin rode the bench behind senior starter Blake MacNicol and played in just seven games. But when fellow backup Bryan Danczak decided to transfer before the start of this season, Dushkin was left to fill the starting role at the most important position on the ice.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking at the beginning of this year,” he said. “It was definitely a change of pace for me. I’d been riding the bench throughout juniors and played a little last year but nothing too much, and then this year, I’m playing against teams like Penn State.”
Morris, too, said he was a little concerned before the season. Dushkin is studying electrical engineering and thought his time might be too divided for him to meet his potential as a goaltender.
“Goaltending is the most mentally draining position,” Morris said. “You’re on the ice all the time and focused for the entire time. Even in the locker room, they don’t talk to anyone; they stay focused.”
On a typical Friday, Dushkin wakes up at 7 a.m. for classes but barely has time to eat before heading to Bird Arena at 5 p.m. for pre-game preparations.
“It’s definitely a difficult balance,” Dushkin said about his schedule. “But I enjoy not having too much time to think about hockey. I just like being busy.”
Even with the busy schedule, Dushkin’s play has been solid so far this year, with a mediocre 11-10-1 record masking a stellar 2.73 goals-against average and a .90 save percentage.
“There’s always a question of whether somebody can grow into that position and, given the opportunity, can step up and play, and I think Teddy’s done that,” Morris said. “He’s 100 percent now, and we’re looking forward to having him ready for the rest of the way.”
cd211209@ohiou.edu
